A man on a Scoot flight who brazenly took another passenger's bag from an overhead compartment, carried it back to his seat and took money from the bag was sentenced to eight months' jail.
Chinese national Zhang Xiuqiang, 52, pleaded guilty to one count of theft on Jan 12. Two similar charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor R. Arvindren said Zhang committed the offence on a Scoot flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore on Dec 16, 2023.
The court heard that during the flight, a fellow passenger, Graham Valmai Hope, sat in seat 11B, next to Zhang's seat 11C.
While en route to Singapore, Hope saw Zhang walk down the aisle of the plane and take a haversack from the overhead compartment above seat 7E.
She then saw him return to his seat with the bag, rummage through it, take something out and place it inside his jacket.
He then put the bag back into the overhead compartment.
DPP Arvindren said that when the plane landed in Singapore, Hope noticed that it was someone else who retrieved the bag that Zhang had rummaged through earlier.
When Hope told this person to check the contents of his bag, he realised that he was missing an envelope containing US$1,000 (S$1,330) and $930 in cash.
Hope informed him that it was Zhang who had stolen the envelope, but Zhang was no longer at his seat.
At this point, another passenger, Richard Khoo, who overheard the conversation between Hope and the victim, saw Zhang trying to rush to exit from the aircraft.
He then saw Zhang throw an envelope onto one of the seats, and he tried to stop him from leaving the plane.
The victim took the envelope and counted the cash inside, which tallied with the amount he was missing.
Hearing this commotion, two other passengers checked their own bags and realised that their cash, too, was missing.
Another passenger then noticed Zhang throwing more cash onto the floor of the plane.
The prosecutor said Zhang did this to get rid of the evidence that he had stolen money.
After the police was called and Zhang was arrested, he denied committing the offences despite the eyewitnesses' accounts.
The money belonging to all three victims was recovered.
Seeking between six and nine months' jail for Zhang, DPP Arvindren said: "The sentence imposed in the present case must send an unstinting message to both the accused and other foreigners that Singapore will not tolerate foreigners boarding Singapore-bound flights to commit crimes, and those who do so will be met with harsh penal consequences."
Those convicted of theft can be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
